Greg Kirkland’s mobile home in Manatee County looks the same as it did a year ago.
There’s nothing different about it — inside or out.
But when the Kirkland’s received their renewal policy from Citizens Property Insurance Corp., the state-run insurer, he felt like part of his home — and nest egg — had blown away.
Since Kirkland and his wife, Ruth, both in their late 70s, first signed up with Citizens years ago, they’ve had $64,000 of coverage on their mobile home, not including personal property or other structures. Their renewal policy — effective in May — cuts that same coverage more than 70 percent, dropping it to $18,000, nowhere near the home’s market value or what it would cost to replace it.
Citizens, initially created as the insurer of last resort, has been looking for ways to reduce its risks. One way has been to depreciate older manufactured and mobile homes.
In 2006, Citizens began requiring that all policies like the Kirkland’s not be written for replacement cost, but for actual cash value. The law kicked in for renewals beginning in 2010, but the change happened slowly, reaching some in South Florida mobile home owners for the first time this year.
“It’s happening to all of us in the park,” Kirkland said.
The recent policy change applies to manufactured and mobile homes built before 1994. Statewide here in Florida, only about 25 percent of mobile or manufactured homes are newer than that.
Citizens insures more than 130,000 mobile and manufactured homes across Florida, but most of those policies are for homes built more than 20 years ago.
“Citizens does not have an automated process in place to depreciate these policy types prior to renewal, but relies on a number of factors including in-person appraisals,” said Michael Peltier in 2013, a spokesman for the insurer.
Kirkland said that his agent never contacted him about the policy change or an appraisal.
Many manufactured and mobile home owners are under the impression that they can only get homeowners coverage through Citizens, but that’s actually false.
Since 2005, Citizens Insurance of Florida has become the largest insurer of homes in the state of Florida. This opportunity has opened the door for new insurance companies to compete for your homeowners insurance in the Florida marketplace. These select “admitted” Florida homeowners insurance companies are licensed by the state and are backed by the Florida Insurance Guaranty Association.
Citizens Insurance of Florida continues to increase premiums and reduce the coverage their policies offer. These companies tend to have more stable rates and offer better coverage than Citizens Insurance.
Anderson & Associates Insurance Group in Palmetto, Florida can find a mobile homeowners insurance policy with great coverage and value for you and your family. Call us today, or request an online quote here.
